updated 08:17 pm EDT, Thu July 17, 2014

Some floors of new HQ will be underground, alongside other features

New aerial photos of the site of Apple's Campus 2 construction project taken by KCBS traffic reporter Ron Cervi have revealed further progress on the construction, including completed perimeter walls for the below-ground portion of the main structure. As revealed in previous pictures, the spaceship-style primary building will be ringed with an underground "trough" thought to be a tramway for busses to help transport workers to and from the massive facility.

Image by Ron Cervi, KCBS

Apple's original plans call for some underground parking to be built underneath the main structure, alongside some other below-ground portions such as a "town hall" theater and a shipping/receiving dock. Equipment spotted near the "tunnels" in the trough suggest that the building may also have some floors underground in addition to or rather than parking, alongside planned above-ground garages that double as solar energy collectors.

The underground parking indicated in the plans could be part of a facility for the trams and busses Apple plans to employ to help move workers from nearby San Francisco and surrounding communities to the new Cupertino HQ, which is expected to open sometime in 2016 and is being built just a few miles away from the current and original main campus.

Image by Ron Cervi, KCBS

The original presentation of plans for Apple Campus 2 before the Cupertino City Council in August of 2011 turned out to be Steve Jobs' last public appearance before his death in October of that year. The iPhone maker received final approval to build the new facility last November.